Wednesday, July 20

You know what really sucks?

I will tell you! Not having a microwave. Our fancy-shmancy microwave isn't even that old. 5 years is all. We paid a small fortune for it. I loved it! Well, I used to. One day a few months back, I was boiling some water and it wouldn't do anything. So I said shucks and then moved on. The next day it worked fine. I thought maybe it was just a glitch or random act of microwave temper tantrumness. So, I avoided boiling water, thinking maybe the steam messed with the sensor, or whatever lame reasoning I had at the time.

Well, it is done now. Don't know why. But it is. My dilemma. I can't afford one like it. Do I buy a cheapy $50 mini microwave from Target to make my life a little easier? Or do I go back to the old school way of cooking. You know? The days before microwaves were the mainstay in our kitchens? The days when if you wanted to reheat left-overs, you put them in a pan and reheated. The days before you put one cup of water in the microwave to make tea, but actually boiled the water and made tea in a tea pot. The days you used a popcorn popper instead. Hmmmmm?

I think I was in 7th grade before we got our first microwave. And do you know, that 25 years later that microwave is still working? Meanwhile, my EXPENSIVE, fancy, BRAND NEW microwave does not.

That is what really sucks!

Saturday, July 9

Flowers, flowers, radishes and lettuce

Lots and lots and lots of flower pictures. Because, everyday I go out to my garden and new flowers have bloomed. Every one of them a sunflower, but every one of them different. 







Then, if you are like me and neglect your vegetable garden, you end up with...
 Radishes
Lettuce

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, July 5

A little more...

So, my last post gave you a quick catch up. Now, how about something exciting. Well, perhaps.

By the way, did you notice my new flower at the top? Purty, right? My first REAL sunflowers that grew in my yard this year. I have more pictures I just may bore you with. But that will have to wait for a later date.

Today. Well, today is all about cleaning. Laundry, to be exact. I've heard about making  your own laundry detergent. That you can save a TON of money. A TON, I said. So, I thought I might as well give it a try. There are all kinds recipes hanging out there on the internet. You can look up and try for yourself. You can go with liquid or powder. I chose powder and went with the simplest recipe because I knew I could remember it next time I wanted to do it.

So, here is the recipe...



And here are my ingredients...


So, why did I choose Fels-Naptha over the other soaps. Well, for one, nostalgia probably. This stuff was a staple in our laundry room when I was growing up. Got a stain, get the Fels-Naptha. That little orange bar of soap was IT! I hadn't seen it in FOREVER, but still remembered how well it worked and thought that it would be my best bet for cleaning our clothes. But, I must admit, I still have a hard time saying it.

I ended up making a huge batch. 6 bars of soap, 6 cups of borax, 6 cups of washing soda.  So, it cost me about $14.00 to make my batch of laundry soap.

First, I grated the FN with a cheese grater.(This is after I tried putting it in my food processor and the noise was HORRIBLE.)


Then, I ran it through my food processor until it was nice and fine. About the size of couscous.


And then I put all the ingredients together in a tub, and mixed well.


Now, the exciting, good and almost unbelievable part of this is that you only need 1 TABLESPOON for a load of laundry. You read right. ONE. TABLESPOON. So, for the sake of science, I measured out my tub of soap and figured out that this much soap is approximately 200 loads. Actually more, but I took into account adding a little extra for those really grubby loads. And, I have to admit I am a bit of a skeptic so I add a little more than a Tablespoon per load.

So, the scoop on the soap... It works! And I really like it. Your laundry doesn't come out smelling all perfumey like some detergents. So, if you like perfumey than this probably isn't for you. I don't use fabric softeners, and since I started using this detergent, my clothes have been MUCH softer. My whites,  are nice and white. Well, I don't think I really have a negative.

I call it Prairie Soap because as I was grating away in the kitchen I could just picture myself in an old cabin on the prairie somewhere, in a prairie dress, with my hair tied back in a handkerchief, sweating as I cleaned, surrounded by wooden tubs of laundry created by my husband working out in the dusty fields all day.

And on a side note, let me tell you how well Borax cleans grubby showers. Our shower pan is old, old, old. And, no amount of cleaning with all of those super chemically cleaners has helped. The box of Borax had all these other uses which included cleaning your bathroom and tile. I took some Borax and sprinkled it on my shower floor, got it wet enough to make a paste and started scrubbing and what do you know?! It was cleaning better than all those expensive, smelly, hard on the hands cleaners. In fact, my cleaning cabinet is slowly changing from lots of expensive chemicals to more natural, old fashioned, things you have around the house items like Vinegar, Borax, Alcohol (for windows), Hydrogen Peroxide and such. But that is a whole 'nother story!

Saturday, July 2

A Super Quick Update

My last post was 2 months ago. Wow! That is pathetic. Well, let's start with some pictures to get the ball rolling....


Abby was "Billy" in her school play about Arizona. Cutest Billy I ever did saw.


My husband tested for his green belt at the end of May. Two weeks before he turned 40. Yep, he is old now and I am not too far behind. 






Amy posed in the park for me. 12 years old and cute. Dangerous combination.


My nephew Lucien came to visit. He brought his mom and dad too. 7 months old and adorable. Not such a dangerous combination.




Swim Team - Second Year for both my kids. They won't admit to liking it. But they do.




I love this picture. Like a little baby alligator lurking in the water, ready to attack at a moment's notice.


My first successful sunflowers. So BIG and so pretty.





My other kid. Bronco! He is cute, right! Slobbers a lot!